Pre-Season Notes

5/30/02

We ended the 2001 season with a championship in 50cc SuperVintage but still with some concerns about the way the bike was running. Rule changes required that we quiet the bike down some, so the open megaphone exhaust had to go, probably a good thing as it was creating a very narrow powerband and was difficult to tune properly. Towards the end of last season we installed a SuperTrapp exhaust system and have been working to tune the system for maximum power. The new system immediately made the bike run richer at high rpm and I had some problems diagnosing this issue. By the last race we were closing in on the proper tuning for the carb and the number of disks we use in the exhaust system. This year we started out with four additional disks in the exhaust (total of 12), in practice we were still too rich on the top end where we were experiencing a misfire. I added another four disks to the exhaust system and we noticed and immediate improvement in mid-range power and almost completely did away with the high rpm misfire. For our next race we will move down to a #92 main jet and check the results during practice laps.

This year we will be running two bikes. The CD-1a that you all know so well by now, and the CD-2, a Honda 175 twin that runs in the 200gp class. We have constructed a new race trailer with living quarters and storage for the bikes and tools, and of course room for the Clever Dogs.

Of course I will attempt to be more vigilant in my photography and bring you more images this year than I normally do.

Wish us Luck

Johnny B